Derrick Lewis had no idea Mike Tomlin knew who he was after watching viral NFL tribute

UFC heavyweight contender Derrick Lewis had a hilarious reaction to head football coach Mike Tomlin’s viral tribute to him.

UFC 324 will mark the return of one of the promotion’s fan favorites, heavyweight star Derrick Lewis, on the undercard against surging contender Waldo Cortes-Acosta. The winner of the Lewis/Cortes-Acosta fight could potentially earn a title shot with a victory on Saturday night.

Lewis, the UFC’s all-time knockouts leader, made headlines earlier this month for a storyline outside of the UFC Octagon. After the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers earned a dramatic win over the Baltimore Ravens in their regular-season finale, Tomlin was seen on camera mimicking Lewis’ black beast’ celebration.

In a follow-up interview, Tomlin expressed profound admiration for Lewis and credited him for the way he carries himself in and out of the cage.

Derrick Lewis responds to coach Mike Tomlin’s viral post-game celebration/tribute

During UFC 324 media day, Lewis reacted to Tomlin’s viral post-game celebration.

“I’ve been a fan of the Steelers for a while,” Lewis said.

“When he got signed in 2008, 2009, I was real happy about that. At the time I was looking for another team, because the [Houston Texans] weren’t doing good around that time. So I was a fan of him because his background and stuff like that…

“It caught me by surprise, I was really shocked he even knew my name. Usually people say ‘the UFC fighter… that one guy that takes his shorts off…’, they don’t know my name, they just say it like that,” Lewis continued. “I got tagged [on social media] a lot after that.”

Unfortunately, Tomlin stepped down from his longtime gig with the Steelers after his team’s recent AFC Wild Card loss to the Houston Texans, Lewis’ hometown team. In the meantime, Lewis will look to give Tomlin and other avid fans another memorable moment inside the Octagon this weekend.